11/09, 8:30pm

UStream adds iPod touch (4th gen), works over 3G

UStreamTV has added support for the fourth-generation iPod Touch and a new full-screen broadcasting display to their free UStream Broadcaster app v2, allowing users iPhone and Touch users capable of running iOS 4.0 or higher to use the built-in cameras to create their own video stream over 3G or wi-fi.

09/10, 6:30pm

Supports more formats, 3D, speed increases

Blackmagic Design today unveiled the Mac upgrade to v7 of the Emmy-winning professional DI color grader, DaVinci Resolve. The software, which requires a 17-inch MacBook Pro for standard-definition or web projects and a top-end Mac Pro for higher-level work, sports an all-new interface, now incorporates Apple ProRes and H.264 formats, supports RED Rocket cards and boasts new stereoscopic 3D grading as well as other features.

11/29, 3:45pm

Warner Music Profit Drop

Warner Music Group on Thursday reported a major drop in profits for its last financial quarter that it largely attributes to online music. Although the company noted that its purely download-based music income increased by 25 percent to $130 million, the company's overall profit dropped about 58 percent and resulted in just $5 million versus $12 million the year before. This income would have been worse still had the company not taken advantage of a settlement with Bertelsmann over a Napster legal dispute.

11/20, 12:10pm

"Purple Violets" on iTunes

The contemporary comedy-drama "Purple Violets" this morning became the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes. Purple Violets tells the romantic tale of two successful college friends who, now professionals in their 30s, meet up with the women they loved and lost in school. The film is available via the iTunes Store for $12.99 as a 1.15GB download in widescreen format. The movie is available only from Apple's iTunes Store this month.

11/19, 6:00pm

Toast 8.0.3 for Leopard

Following last week's update for Popcorn, Roxio has issued Toast 8.0.3, bringing a number of Leopard-specific fixes, and some other bug fixes as well. The update resolves a few cosmetic issues that resulted from using Toast under Leopard, and a problem where the OS would produce poor quality music DVDs. A few errors have been fixed: Error 9011 will no longer occur when burning a DVD with MPEG-2 video and PCM audio, and -2009 will cease to happen when using PCM pass-through audio, while the "Optimize on-the-fly" setting will no longer result in error -35 in Custom Hybrid and Mac Volume projects. Toast will now use the correct video quality settings when they are selected, and a hanging issue has been fixed from when the app was trying to process video footage from TiVo after it had been updated with the Fall 2007 patch.

11/16, 11:05am

KORE 2, exp. packs ship

Native Instruments' second announcement for Friday is the release of KORE 2, what the company describes as a comprehensive instrument that melds the engines of ABSYNTH, FM8, Guitar Rig, KONTAKT, MASSIVE and REAKTOR. It additionally comes with a library of 500 new sounds, and a touch-sensitive hardware controller that allows more intuitive interaction. To expand the program users can combine it with KOMPLETE 5, or any Audio Unit or VST plug-in. KORE 2 costs $560, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 and a 1.8GHz G5 processor or better.

11/16, 9:25am

Beatport SYNC player

Native Instruments and Beatport have released a new, free music player, Beatport SYNC. The software is based on NI's TRAKTOR DJ program, but is in fact meant for more casual playback; the difference is that unlike iTunes, users have two playback decks and a simplified mixing board, which lets users crossfade or beatmatch tracks to create a smooth flow. More complex tasks such as beat detection, tempo sync and loudness control are handled automatically. The program is integrated with iTunes and iPod support, and can play or import music from virtually any connected device including flash sticks and cellphones.

11/15, 1:25am

RealPlayer v11 Mac beta

RealNetworks today announced the consumer availability of its new RealPlayer v11 for Windows after a five-month public beta period and announced a beta of its Mac version; in addition, the company said the newest version finally bring support for transferring downloaded video content to Apple's iPod nano, iPod classic and iPod video. iPod owners who previously only had access to video content available through Apple's iTunes now have access to non-DRM protected videos from thousands of sites on the Web after upgrading to the paid version of its product. The new Mac beta allows the downloading of non-DRM protected Web videos from thousands of sites for playback online or offline and is available for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" and Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard," offering support for both Firefox for the Mac and Safari.

11/14, 11:10am

Warner praises iTunes

Warner Music Group chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman has praised Apple's iTunes Store while promising "many, many more" bundles of tracks with ringtones in what appears to be a complete 180-degree stance on digital music. The executive admitted to fighting consumer demand for digital tracks, which only fueled the illegal P2P transfers online that helped to shrink CD and DVD sales at a rapid rate. Bronfman used Apple as a prime example of digital music done right, citing the company's successful iPhone with its slick user interface and easy-to-use nature.

11/12, 6:35pm

iPhone, iPod touch v1.1.2

Apple today officially released the iPhone v1.1.2 and iPod touch v1.1.2 firmware and software updates via its iTunes software. The software, which was found on Apple's own servers last Thursday and shipped with iPhones in the UK and Germany this past weekend, will not appear in the computer's Software Update application, or in the Apple Downloads site, the Cupertino-based company noted. Apple officially acknowledged that the update closed a critical security flaw that affected previous versions and has been exploited to allow users to "jailbreak" the devices to gain access to the file system and install third-party applications. Over the weekend, however, hackers found yet another method to hack the OS software to install third-party applications, offering both a tutorial and software to help users "jailbreak" the devices.

11/09, 2:50pm

iTunes Wi-Fi store in CA

Apple and Starbucks this week launched the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store at around 360 Starbucks coffee shops in the California Bay Area. Starbucks customers can wirelessly connect for free with iTunes to shop for music as part of the plan announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs during a special event in San Francisco on September 5th. The Bay Area launch includes stores spanning from Santa Rosa to Gilroy, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, and Apple's vice president of iTunes Eddie Cue eluded to broad coverage with very few Starbucks stores lacking the service.

11/08, 2:45pm

Jay-Z bans songs on iTunes

Hip hop star Jay-Z has banned his latest album from Apple's iTunes Store, saying that wants the "work of art" to be enjoyed in its entirety. The album, titled American Gangster and serving as the 'imaginary soundtrack' for the film of the same name, is not to be offered as individual tracks via iTunes as is customary of most works sold via Apple's digital storefront, according to WCCO.com. The decision comes after rock band Radiohead chose to sell their works only as complete albums.

11/08, 7:20am

Ticketmaster and iTunes

Ticketmaster and the iTunes Store have expanded their music + tickets offerings by integrating digital album sales directly alongside concert tickets in a single transaction on Ticketmaster.com. Ticketmaster said that more than 700 musical acts with performances currently on sale via Ticketmaster, including Kanye West, Keith Urban, Modest Mouse and Bon Jovi, are among the first to have their songs and tickets jointly available to fans who search for music and concerts online. Both Apple and Ticketmaster have also launched a special dollar-off discount, which will be applied to every digital album sold on Ticketmaster and fulfilled via the iTunes Store through December 29, 2007.

11/07, 2:45pm

Disney says: blame Apple

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner this morning said digital media distribution is currently at best a break-even business, and that Apple gobbles up most of what little money is made, according to a report from News.com. "[The studios] make deals with Steve Jobs, who takes them to the cleaners," Disney's chief explained. "They make all these kinds of things, and who's making money? Apple! They should get a piece of Apple. If I was a union, I'd be striking up wherever he is," Eisner remarked, presumably referring to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

11/06, 7:30pm

Varasoft updates apps

Vara Software today announced updates for two of its applications, Videocue 2.7, software that acts as a teleprompter for individuals doing a video podcast, and webcast manager Wirecast 3.0.4. The updates ensure Leopard compatibility, and have resolved some outstanding bugs, as well as some new feature introductions. Both applications are available from Varasoft's webstore, with Videocue selling for $40, and Wirecast at $450.

11/05, 3:20pm

iTunes 7.5, QuickTime 7.3

Apple on Monday released iTunes 7.5 (Windows), an update to its software for managing connected devices such as the iPhone and iPod as well as music and video content. Version 7.5 features the ability to activate the iPhone wherever service is offered and support for Phase, a new interactive music game designed exclusively for iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod (fifth generation). Apple also said that the release, coming just days before the launch of the iPhone outside of the US, also includes bug fixes to improve stability and performance. Apple also released QuickTime 7.3 (Tiger, Panther), which addresses critical security issues as well as brings support for iTunes 7.5, adds updated support for creating iPhone-compatible web content, updates JavaScript support in the QuickTime Web Plug-in, and includes "numerous" other bug fixes. The updates are also available the software update function.

11/01, 10:05am

EyeTV updates for Leopard

Elgato has released an update for EyeTV, its TV streaming, recording and encoding software. Version 2.5.1 should download automatically when the proram is next launched, and is meant to take advantage of Leopard's new features. EyeTV recordings can now be properly browsed in Cover Flow, and can also be played directly from Finder, using Quick Look. When using iChat, recordings can be inserted into video conversations, with voice commentary on top if desired. Lastly, EyeTV windows for both live TV and recordings can be set to "float" between Spaces, avoiding interruptions. EyeTV costs $56 and requires Mac OS X 10.4 along with a compatible tuning peripheral.

10/31, 11:05am

WeBot Mac, Linux support

WeBot today announced that its recently-launched service for bringing multimedia content to any computer or compatible device -- like Apple's iPhone -- is now compatible with Mac and Linux systems. WeBot enables users to play music located on a home computer at work using a Web browser, and provides instant access to media across all machines and servers as soon as it's downloaded. Users can share pictures stored on several computers regardless of their locations, and WeBot negates the need to manually upload or synchronize files. The service is currently available as for testing purposes, requiring users to create an account and sign in prior to usage.

10/30, 9:55am

MegaSeg 4.1 released

Fidelity Media has released the v4.1 upgrade to MegaSeg, its live DJ software. Users can queue up long playlists of music, videos and announcements, transitioning and beat-mixing between files, while finding and previewing new tracks using a proprietary engine. The latest version adds compatibility with Mac OS X Leopard, but also introduces some 40 other improvements, such as buttons for pitch control, a MIDI trigger for previews and the ability to insert URLs into Events and the Scheduler. Unspecified improvements have been made to items like QuickTime, importing, ID3 tags and keyboard shortcuts. MegaSeg costs $250, and is a Universal Binary for Mac OS X 10.3 or higher, on computers with at least 600MHz and 512MB of RAM.

10/23, 10:05am

Led Zeppelin box on iTunes

A box set containing the entirety of Led Zeppelin's discography, "The Complete Led Zeppelin" (iTunes link), is now available for pre-order on the iTunes Store. Priced at $99, it includes 165 tracks divided into 13 albums, among them a new best-of piece called "Mothership." This is composed of tracks picked by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, and features popular songs such as "Kashmir" and "Whole Lotta Love." The albums of the compilation will be available together or separately starting on November 13th; by pre-ordering Complete or Mothership, buyers are entered to win two tickets to a London reunion concert, scheduled for November 26th. Airfare and hotel booking are included as part of the prize.

10/23, 9:05am

Planet in Peril on iTunes

CNN has announced that its two-part Planet in Peril special, documenting environmental crises across the globe, will be made available at the iTunes Store an unknown period of time after the show's October 23rd and 24th airings. The video has been recorded in HD quality, and will be sold for $1.99 per episode. CNN has taken special effort to promote Planet in Peril to Apple customers; on Sunday the news network screened 40-minute excerpts at Apple Stores in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco.

10/22, 11:45am

GimmeSomeTune 4.0

Eternal Storms has released v4.0 of GimmeSomeTune, its general iTunes utility. The program mainly downloads album art and lyrics for songs, but also adds things such as special hotkeys and appearance customization. The new version allows art downloads directly from Amazon and the iTunes Store, as well as lyrics from two more websites, lyricwiki.org and lyricsdownload.com. Support has been implemented for Mac OS X Leopard and the Last.fm social networking site, plus users can now control various functions through their remote control. Versions of GimmeSomeTune are available for Mac OS X 10.3.9 or 10.4 and higher; the software is free, but donations are encouraged.

10/18, 7:15pm

Magic Bullet Looks

Visual effects creator Red Giant Software today released Magic Bullet Looks. Designed to be used both in the studio and in post production, Looks is used to adjust color, tone and focus on video footage. Red Giant has included over a hundred different presets, all of which occupy any one of ten style categories. Looks is advertised as being useful for any project, ranging from weddings to production pictures. Included with the package is the LooksBuilder, which is a standalone application used primarily during filming. LooksBuilder presets can be loaded into any supported editing suite so that it provides a consistent look from start to finish.

10/16, 8:15pm

iMedia Browser released

Karelia has debuted a free media browser for Mac OS X called iMedia that acts like the repository that Apple includes in some of its applications, but is accessible from within any application. The tool can be used to access photos, music, videos, and bookmarks, including the iPhoto library, Aperture library, Pictures folder, and other predefined folders; the iTunes library, GarageBand songs, Music folder; bookmarks from Safari, Firefox, OmniWeb, and more. The tool allows you to drag and drop any folder into the source list to add to your library and download plugins such as iDelicious to extend capabilities of the browser. The browser is available from the Dock or the Menu Bar, via application preferences.

10/16, 3:40pm

iTunes Plus now $0.99

Apple says it will reduce price of its DRM-free songs on its iTunes Store to 99 cents from $1.29, making it more competitive with Amazon.com, Wal-Mart Stores and other rivals in online music. In an interview, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said all iTunes Plus music, will feature the reduced price later today or tomorrow. iTunes Plus offers songs without digital rights management, or DRM, anti-copying software: so far, the only major label to cut a deal on DRM-free songs is EMI Group Plc, but Apple has also already begun adding new music to iTunes Plus from independent recording companies at 99 cents a song, according to the Wall Street Journal.

10/16, 12:25pm

iPlayer for Mac by 2008

The BBC has announced that its iPlayer software, which allows users to catch up on the last seven days of BBC television programs, will support Macs by end of 2007, according to MediaGuardian.co.uk. The UK-based television network in September of 2007 promised Mac users that it would bring the free service to Macs, but offered no estimation on when the service would debut. Yesterday's announcement confirms the BBC's progress and commitment to bringing Mac users up to speed with Microsoft Windows users. iPlayer is designed to make the BBC more relevant in the digital age by bringing network content directly to internet users, negating the need to turn on the tube. [update: timeframe changed to by end of 2007]

10/15, 7:50pm

Io HD for 10-bit editing

AJA Video is now shipping Io HD, a tool that delivers HD editing to the MacBook Pro and Mac Pro Pro via a Firewire 800 (IEEE-1394b) interface. The device natively supports Apple's ProRes 422 video format in hardware, and includes a similar feature set to AJA's industry-leading KONA lineup; 10-bit hardware-based up-conversion, cross-conversion, and down-conversion, performed in real time. The new unit also works with a new AJA-built driver, supporting features such as core audio, and very low latency. Included are SD/HD analog inputs and outputs, SD/HD digital I/O including HD-SDI and HDMI, as well as RS-422, Genlock, Balanced analog and AES audio, and even LTC time code connections. Io HD is available now at $3500.

10/15, 4:40pm

Led Zeppelin on iTunes

Iconic rock band Led Zeppelin has announced plans to offer its music online beginning in mid-November. Starting November 13th, original Led Zeppelin tracks will be available via the iTunes Store for download either individually for $0.99 each or as complete albums, according to Macworld UK. The band's offerings due to launch on iTunes next month include Led Zeppelin; Led Zeppelin II; Led Zeppelin III, its untitled fourth album; Houses of the Holy; Physical Graffiti; Presence; The Song Remains the Same; In Through The Out Door; Coda; How The West Was Won; and Mothership. "We are pleased that the complete Led Zeppelin catalogue will now be available digitally," said band guitarist Jimmy Page. "The addition of the digital option will better enable fans to obtain our music in whichever manner that they prefer."

10/05, 11:20am

IK software, StompIO date

IK Multimedia today announced several new pieces of hardware and software at the AES trade expo. At the top of the list is ARC, standing for Advanced Room Correction. The program is said to offer the first acoustic room correction system in DAW plug-in form, working in tandem with standalone software and a calibrated microphone. The combined ARC package is used to measure the acoustic flaws of a room, compensating for time and frequency response problems through automatic EQ adjustment. The program is a Universal Binary for Mac OS 10.4 or later, and costs $700; it is expected to ship by the end of this quarter.

10/03, 10:55am

Family Guy comes to iTunes

Fox has added Family Guy, Season 6 to Apple's iTunes Store, bringing the hit television series to loyal fans everywhere. The comedy cartoon follows an American family with an oaf husband, his loving wife who occasionally shows a neurotic side; 16-year-old Meg who often becomes the source of other family members' jokes; 13-year-old Chris who seems to follow his father's footsteps; 1-year-old Stewie, an exceptionally intelligent baby with an eye to take over the world; and Brian, the family dog who enjoys dry martinis and dumb blondes. Season six will feature guest voice appearances by Paris Hilton, Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. As usual, individual episodes are priced at $1.99. The show airs Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. on FOX.

09/28, 11:45am

Iris 1.0.1 tool for iSight

MildMannered Industries has premiered the first version of Iris, a program that expands the abilities of iSights and other webcams. Aside from permitting snapshots, it can also be used to record movies, including timelapse movies stretched over extended periods of time. Video can be broadcast online, and files can be quickly uploaded to Flickr or exported to iPods, the Apple TV or the iPhone. Users concerned with security can configure a camera to detect motion, sending e-mail alerts as necessary. Iris is a Universal Binary that requires Mac OS 10.4; its $30 price covers unlimited personal use or a single business computer.

09/28, 11:15am

Wii Transfer 2.5 released

Riverfold Software has launched the latest version of Wii Transfer, a program that enables files to be shared between Macs and Nintendo's Wii console. Users can copy over saved games, browse iPhoto albums, or stream music from iTunes in MP3 or unprotected AAC formats. Version 2.5 adds the critical movie streaming component, allowing users to drag-and-drop videos for conversion, and then watch the results through the Wii's Internet Channel. The update can now also view Safari and Firefox bookmarks, and set background music for slideshows. Navigation with the Wii Remote is said to be improved as well. Wii Transfer is a Universal Binary for Mac OS X 10.4, and costs $20; a free demo is also available, but movies streamed in the trial do not have any sound.

09/27, 10:50am

SRS iWOW 2 iTunes plug-in

Surround specialist SRS Labs has released the second edition of its iWOW plug-in for iTunes. The software is meant to provide 3D sound to listeners, regardless of whether they are using built-in speakers or external ones. The emphasis in iWOW 2 though is on presets, allowing users to create and save settings for individual songs, videos and podcasts, instead of constantly tweaking iTunes' general options. Included presets address podcasts, techno and acoustic music, as well as three settings for video. Finally, an "auto-preset" mode attempts to pick an appropriate preset based on data in a file.

09/27, 9:20am

M-Audio ships new KeyRigs

M-Audio has begun shipping two new USB keyboard/software packages, the most basic of these being the KeyRig 25. The 25 is a 25-note keyboard, designed in part to be compact so it can be easily transported. Aside from the notes, there are eight MIDI-assigned knobs and buttons, which can be used to trigger tracks, loops and instruments. The KeyRig 49 meanwhile is a more conventional keyboard, expanding the notes to a full 49 for flexibility.

09/26, 11:25am

New NBC shows on iTunes

Apple has added two TV shows from NBC to its iTunes Store despite a recent fallout between the television network and the Cupertino-based company. Reports surfaced late last month that NBC would no longer offer its TV shows via iTunes as a result of differing views over Apple's resistance to altering pricing. While the contract between Apple and NBC runs through the month of December and videos will not disappear until after the deal expires, the removal of Apple's largest television content provider could deal a hefty blow to its iPod/iTunes business. [corrected]

09/24, 5:30pm

Radioshift for Mac

Rogue Amoeba today released Radioshift, an application that automatically records internet and AM/FM radio for later listening. The software allows users to explore and listen to more than 50,000 radio listings from around the world, and supports subscribing to as well as recording any radio program. Radioshift works with RealAudio, Windows Media, QuickTime, and MP3 streams and includes a built-in Radio Guide to help browse the mass of radio listings. "With a single click, audio can be subscribed to right from the guide. The audio will then be automatically recorded whenever it airs, with no difficult setup required. Radioshift records in the background and has audio ready for listening at any time." Radioshift is priced at $32 and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

09/24, 5:20pm

EyeTV 2.5 Update released

Elgato today released EyeTV 2.5 Update with Wi-Fi access for Apple's iPhone and iPod touch devices, as well as the ability to record from Live Buffer. EyeTV 2 television software allows users to record content that is temporarily stored via timeshifting, and includes a one-click button for easy export of recordings to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. The latest release of EyeTV includes Freebox IPTV support, one-click iPhone export, and more. The update is available for free to current EyeTV 2 users, according to Elgato.

09/24, 1:20pm

Apple terms "indecent"

Major record label Vivendi today chastised Apple for its "indecent" contract terms between Universal Music Group and the iTunes Store. "The split between Apple and (music) producers is indecent [...] Our contracts give too good a share to Apple," said Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy. Vivendi says it currently receives €0.70 of the €0.99 charged by Apple in Europe, and is demanding a new pricing model that would make new releases cost more than older works, according to a Reuters report. Levy assured reporters at a gathering in France that the largest record label is speaking with companies other than Apple to "ensure that music is better remunerated." Universal cancelled its long-term iTunes contract in early July, deciding instead to offer its catalog of tracks on a monthly basis and with an "at will" capacity. [corrected: Another panel member, not Warner Music Group, said that music labels could remove their music catalogs from the iTunes Store in one swift "decapitation" move. Warner has clarified that it did not threaten to remove its music catalog from Apple's iTunes Store.]

09/24, 9:15am

Starbucks gives 50m songs

Starbucks on Monday announced that it will giveaway more than 50 million free songs to help promote the new "Now Playing" iTunes service that will roll-out in 600 New York and Seattle locations around the US (announced earlier this month). Starbucks said it would introduce the digital music experience across all of its U.S. company-operated and licensed stores by offering its customers the "Song of the Day," a free digital music promotion that will offer 1.5 million songs each day across its 10,000 Starbucks locations. The promo will run from October 2 to November 7 -- during which customers may receive "Song of the Day" iTunes cards for a complimentary song hand-selected by Starbucks Entertainment. The company also announced plans to sell iTunes Digital Release Cards as well as Starbucks Card Plus Two, a limited edition re-loadable Starbucks card that will offer two extra songs when it is registered online.

09/20, 11:45am

Free CBS, Fox TV shows

CBS and Fox are both planning to offer season premiers of select hit TV shows for free on iTunes, despite NBC's decision to pull its own content from Apple's digital storefront. Fox's K-Ville and Prison Break hit drama series premieres will accompany CBS's The Big Bang Theory as free offerings from Apple's iTunes Store this fall. K-Ville is a police drama series set in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, while Prison Break details the dramatic efforts of prisoners in a U.S. detention center as they plan their elaborate escape in a third season. NBC recently announced that it would make many of its hit TV shows available for free via its own site without the help of the iTunes Store in October, but admitted that a Mac version of its viewing software will not be available until an unspecified later date. Meanwhile CBS expressed happiness with its current iTunes arrangement after News Corp. affirmed its loyalty to the iTunes Store earlier this month.

09/17, 6:05pm

iTunes 7.4.2 update

Apple on Monday released an update to the software for its online media store and music/video management for iPods. iTunes 7.4.2, available via the Software Update preference panel as a 38.5MB download, addresses an issue with creating ringtones using iTunes Plus song purchases and includes bug fixes to improve stability and performance, according Apple's documentation. The iTunes 7.4.1 update, released less than 10 days ago, appeared to address hacks by users that enabled them to create ringtones for free; however, users later found a modified method that allowed them to create custom ringtones without using iTunes ringtone service, which not only charges $0.99, but is also limited to a small set of songs from Apple's entire catalog.

09/12, 9:40am

Logic Studio and Express 8

Apple on Wednesday introduced a long-awaited upgrade to its Logic audio production suites. Logic Studio replaces Logic Pro 7 as the company's professional editor and is the first to include MainStage, a live performance tool for both rehearsals and stage sessions; on-screen controls link directly to faders, knobs, and other hardware controls on mixing equipment. The app provides an easier-to-read display for the dim light of a concert environment and a set of pro templates that encourage experimentation with new sounds. Studio also revolves around Logic Pro 8, a new version of Apple's primary music editor that switches to a more intuitive single-window interface and enhanced features such as a snap-to-transient selection, time stretching, and sample-accurate editing straight from the Arrange window. Quick Stripe Comping that generates an ideal take and dynamic channel strip creation are also staples of the new core program, Apple says.

09/08, 3:00pm

Apple ships iTunes 7.4.1

Apple on Friday quietly released iTunes 7.4.1, a minor update to the company's jukebox software that is only available via the Web (38MB). Although the company has not specifically described the changes, some report that after the update they were no longer able to use circulating custom ringtone workaround, which allowed users to make any AAC file into a ringtone. Discovered soon after the initial release of iTunes 7.4, users were able to simply rename any AAC track to .M4R and load it into iTunes (by double-clicking, for example): on the next iPhone sync, users will automatically be able to use the ringtones via the iTunes ringtone tab. iTunes 7.4.1 allows previously renamed tracks to exists, but does not allow newly renamed files to show up as ringtones. Update: Users report that they can simply follow the original method and under iTunes 4.1 simple add another step: change the file extension from m4r file back to m4a and the newly renamed file will appear in the iTunes 7.4.1 sync list automatically.

09/06, 6:15am

Apple releases iTunes 7.4

Apple early Thursday morning released iTunes 7.4, bringing the ability to sync music (and other items) with the new iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod touch. Users can also use the software to create custom ringtones exclusively for iPhone with some -- but not all -- of the songs purchased from the iTunes Store. Apple also said that users can also play purchased videos with closed captioning (when available), easily rate favorite albums from one to five stars, and watch videos at a larger size inside the iTunes window. The software is available as a 38.4MB update from the Software Update control panel or via the Web for both Mac and Windows.

09/03, 12:50pm

MultiInspector 2.0 plug-in

VertexDSP has released MultiInspector 2.0, an AU and VST plug-in that handles frequency analysis. Already capable of 31-band, third octave analysis, the second edition is capable of FFT analysis, with a host of options for FFT size and window selection. Up to 16 instances of the plug-in can be run simultaneously, at sample rates between 32 and 192kHz; various viewing modes allow stacked and overlapping displays. MultiInspector is a Universal Binary for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and costs $88.

09/03, 12:25pm

Mu Voice VST plug-in

Mu Technologies has released Mu Voice, a VST plug-in that tunes voices and adds various effects to them, such as panning, filters, and formants that affect timbre and color. A small 5.8ms delay allows the software to be used during live performances, and a particular feature is "intelligent harmonizing," which accounts for chord and scale information in a song when tuning. Mu Voice uses a four-track mixer, and can export to XML for compatibility with other platforms. The Mac plug-in is a Universal Binary, but is currently limited to VST and monophonic material; AU and RTAS plug-ins are in development. The software is available for $200 under "early bird" pricing.

09/01, 10:20pm

iTunes dispute hurts Apple

The iTunes pricing dispute hurts Apple more than its hurts NBC Universal and reinforces the relatively little influence that Apple has in the video download market (compared with the digital music market). NBC Universal's decision to pull its network TV shows from the industry-leading iTunes Store points to fierce resistance among media companies to the potential Apple dominance of online video sales, an industry analyst toldIDG News Service. NBC, which already offers most of its network shows for free via its ad-supported website, has sold out most of ad inventory already, giving it an alternative--and potentially lucrative--distribution strategy. The rift with NBC is more damaging to Apple than to NBC, the analyst said, because Apple is using its digital store to sell products, such as the Apple TV, the iPhone, and video iPods.

09/01, 4:55pm

NBC: iTunes pricing fixed

Continuing the public jousting, NBC Universal (NBCU) claims it never asked to double the wholesale price--as Apple claimed--and insists its network shows will be sold by the iTunes Store through early December. NBCU also said that Apple needs do more about piracy and that Apple's iTunes pricing strategy is hurting content providers. The statements made by NBCU execs directly counter a press release made by Apple on Friday morning and appear to be yet another move by the network to put public pressure on Apple to bring the popular shows to the industry-leading iTunes Store. NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales.

08/31, 1:40pm

iTunes ends NBC contract

In a fight over pricing, Apple today announced that it will not sell NBC television shows for the upcoming television season on its online iTunes Store. The announcement follows NBC's decision to not renew its agreement with iTunes when Apple declined to pay more than double the wholesale price for each NBC TV episode, which would have resulted in the retail price to consumers increasing to $4.99 per episode from the current $1.99. ABC, CBS, FOX and The CW, along with more than 50 cable networks, are signed up to sell TV shows from their upcoming season on iTunes at $1.99 per episode. Apple noted that NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales.

08/29, 9:15am

Roxio ships Popcorn 3

Roxio has released Popcorn 3, the latest version of its Mac video conversion software. In particular the program converts files for devices such as iPhones, iPods and Xbox 360s, but it also specializes in creating viewable DVDs. The third edition can burn DVDs up to four hours in length, and implements Batch DVD-Video Conversion, a tool which allows the queing of multiple DVDs for Fit-to-DVD. A pause command allows users to halt burning or conversion, and resume at leisure.